Washington, Mar 14 (AP) The US imposed sanctions on Thursday on a group of three extremist Israeli West Bank settlers who are accused of harassing and attacking Palestinians in an attempt to pressure them to leave their land.

The US State Department announced sanctions and visa restrictions against settler Zvi Bar Yosef and his outpost. Currently sanctioned in the UK, Bar Yosef is accused of acting violently against Palestinians in the West Bank.

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Moshe Sharvit, a settler also already sanctioned in the UK, allegedly attacked Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists in the vicinity of his outpost, which is also now sanctioned by the US.

British officials in February stated that Sharvit and another settler threatened Palestinian families at gunpoint and destroyed property as part of a “ targeted and calculated effort to displace Palestinian communities.”

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Additionally, sanctions were imposed on Neriya Ben Pazi, who attacked and expelled Palestinian shepherds from hundreds of acres of land as recently as August 2023.

The US sanctions block the men and their outposts from using the US financial system and bar American citizens from dealing with them.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that “there is no justification for extremist violence against civilians or forcing families from their homes, whatever their national origin, ethnicity, race, or religion.”

In February, President Joe Biden issued an executive order that targets Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have been accused of attacking Palestinians and Israeli peace activists in the occupied territory.

Currently, nine people and their properties have been sanctioned under the new executive order targeting West Bank settlers according to Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control database. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)